Villa del Pavone

The website covers the basics, but I want to mention the owner’s warmth and hospitality. She’s an excellent pastry chef, which I can confirm after yesterday’s breakfast, with a lovely latte served on fine china. She’s also incredibly helpful and kind, and made me feel at home. The breakfast room deserves a mention of its own: it’s spacious and bright, with three windows on each side looking out over the garden. Across from the door are two dark wood Art Nouveau pieces, if I remember correctly. Paintings cover the walls, mostly by the owner, whose portraits and landscapes have a simple but decisive style. By the living room door there’s a beautiful 17th-century Neapolitan tapestry, clearly influenced by the art of the Spanish domination. I noticed she collects fine Capodimonte porcelain too. One striking, very large piece showed a coachman in a wig, tricorn, and garland, carrying a damsel dressed for the countryside. Just before leaving, I spotted a lovely little plaque painted by the owner between the two chandeliers. I could say more, since the website doesn’t mention these things, but I’m describing the room rather than reviewing it. It deserves its own detailed description, alongside the other rooms and the owner’s friendly hospitality. I highly recommend staying in this splendid manor house. The quiet here is a tonic for body and mind. I hope others who review it feel the same way I did. I’d love to return one day.

Breakfast was delicious, especially the lady’s desserts, though it would’ve been nice to have fruit and water too. The bathroom was roomy, with a beautiful bathtub, and the bedroom opens straight onto a terrace. There’s air conditioning and a TV. The garden is lovely, well kept, and surrounds almost the whole house. With all the lush plants, it doesn’t feel like you’re in the city, and spotting a magnificent peacock wandering around was a pleasant surprise. Inside, there’s a lot to take in, from paintings and vases to porcelain and furniture. The house is an old villa renovated in the 1980s, so the bedroom furniture isn’t modern. The tall wooden headboard, the chandelier, and even the bedside lamps all came from her grandmother.

The location is handy for both the center and the train station. The place was impeccably clean, and the welcome was full of courtesy and kindness. A sweet little wolf was there to greet us when we arrived.

I spent a day there a few years back. It was okay, but the owners weren’t especially hospitable, even though they did give me a rather obligatory recommendation.